There and Back Again
by Arorra
Summary: FINALLY REPOSTED! Lily and James are best friends first year, she is forced to move away but comes back for 6th year. What happens when she comes home? Will things be the same or different for Lily and James, will they even remember each other? Ch 3 up
1. Got to Get You into My Life

**There and Back Again**

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**Chapter 1: Got to get you into my life**

**_I was alone, I took a ride,  
I didn't know what I would find there.  
Another road where maybe I  
Could see another kind of mind there.  
Ooh then I suddenly see you,   
Ooh did I tell you I need you  
Ev'ry single day of life?  
You didn't run, you didn't lie,  
You knew I wanted just to hold you,  
And had you gone, you knew in time  
We'd meet again for I had to hold you.  
Ooh you were meant to be near me,  
Ooh and I want to hear me,  
Say we'll be together ev'ry day.  
Got to get you into my life.  
What can I do, what can I be?  
When I'm with you I want to stay there.  
If I'm true I'll never leave,  
And if I do I know the way there.  
Ooh then I suddenly see you,  
Ooh did I tell you I need you  
Ev'ry single day of my life?  
Got to get you into my life.  
Got to get you into my life.  
I was alone, I took a ride,  
I didn't know what I would find there.  
Another road where maybe I  
Could see another kind of mind there.  
Ooh then I suddenly see you,  
Ooh did I tell you I need you  
Ev'ry single day of life?  
What are you doing to my life?_**

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            Lily Evans stepped onto platform 9 and looked around.  She was having the worst possible day she could imagine for the beginning of a new life.  It had been raining all morning and she was soaked to the bone.  She awakened late then got into a huge fight with her parents; it was a bad omen.  Her first day at Hogwarts, a school she had never heard of until her eleventh birthday.  Still, several months later, she had to pinch herself to make sure she was awake and not dreaming that she was a witch.  Pushing a wet strand of dark auburn hair off her face, she looked down at her ticket while biting her lower lip in frustration.  Her ticket read "Platform 9 ¾", _'platform 9 ¾?  These people are nutters!_  Chewing on her bottom lip, almost to the bleeding point, she sighed and looked around for someone who looked the least bit magical, she was beginning to become extremely nervous and afraid, though she refused to admit that last bit to herself.  Her parents had just dropped her off at the front of the station; they said that since she was acting like such a ninny she could find the platform herself.  The eleven-year-old girl felt very alone as she watched all the very normal looking people pass by her.  Fighting back tears, she leaned against the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, trying to think.  Abruptly she fell through the barriers, landing on her bum; she let out a strangled yelp not knowing what on earth had happened.

            Groaning she untangled herself from her overturned cart and all her scattered belongings and mumbled something about 'bad karma'.  She stood up, still grumbling and attempted to brush off her still soaking wet clothes.  Sighing dejectedly at her messy appearance, she stood her cart upright, piled her belongings back onto it and finally looked around to get accustomed to her surroundings.  She stared in shock at the sight that lay before her.  Somehow she had found her way onto Platform 9 ¾ and was left goggling at a huge, gorgeous train right in front of her.  Startled out of her reverie, she heard someone at the far end of the platform yelling, "Last call for boarding!  The Hogwarts Express departs in 10 minutes!"  She scrambled towards the train, giving all of her belongings, except her new owl, a small gray flecked brown owl that was said to be the fastest in the shop.  She wasn't quite sure about that since all Pepper (the owl's fur DID reminder her of the unsavory spice) did was sleep and hoot.  Of course she hadn't had any opportunity to use the owl.

Hoping onto the train carrying Pepper in her cage, she sighed with relief, releasing at least some of the tension that was in her shoulders.  Smiling to herself, she started looking for compartments.  Without paying attention to where she was going, she accidentally bumped into somebody.

            "Oh!  I'm terribly sorry!  I didn't see you there!"  An embarrassed Lily exclaimed blushing slightly.

            "Of course you didn't you stupid mudblood" the person she had run into sneered at her turning around.  He was only a little taller than she was, about 5'3, with slicked back blond hair and ice cold blue eyes.  He was accompanied by a slightly taller boy, the same age with a large hook nose and greasy black hair that hung in shaggy locks around his face and getting in the way of his brown eyes, so dark they almost seemed black.  As the blond boy turned his eyes widened and a smile that seemed more like a sneer crossed his wormlike pink lips

            Glaring, Lily crossed her arms in front of her chest she didn't know what the word he used meant but he sounded rather cross; "I said I was sorry, no need to get so angry, it was a simple mistake, now if you will excuse me you are blocking the rest of the passageway and I still need to find a compartment". 

The air around the blond boy changed slightly and he curved his wormy lips into a sneer that she assumed was supposed to be a smile.  "So sorry to insult you there, why don't you stay in our compartment?  I'm Lucious Malfoy and this is Severus Snape" he said gesturing to the greasy-haired boy next to him who simply nodded. 

            Lily felt suddenly afraid of this boy, despite his apology and almost warm words, his eyes remained cold and careless.  "Thank you, but no, I am meeting some friends in another compartment" she lied.  "And I don't think they appreciate me being late."  Biting her lip again she backed away slowly and instinctively reached inside her pocket for her wand even though she had yet to try the few spells she had learned from her books.  "Besides, by standing here I'm just dripping water and I wouldn't want to get your compartment all wet now would I?" 

            "You're a very pretty girl you know" the blond boy said with menace in his voice.  "You haven't even told us your name?  And Sev here doesn't mind a little water" Lily looked down at herself and frowned, she was wearing jeans, darkened by the rainwater, and a red tee shirt that had the British flag on it.  Over her clothes, she had an oversized light blue rain jacket.  She pushed her red, wet hair out of her face once more and looked over at Snape, he just looked bored.  She looked back at Malfoy and he spoke again "You will join us in our compartment" it was not a question as he advanced on Lily.

            Looking around and finding no place for her to run, Lily glared up at Malfoy and said "I think not Malfoy, I have no desire to sit within 100 feet of you or your greasy friend" With that said she kneed him hard in the groin, pushed him into the open compartment from which he came and ran past him and a surprised Snape towards the back of the train ignoring his cries of "I'll get you!  You'll pay you dirty mudblood!"  She again wondered what the word meant, though she had figured by now that it was a rather nasty insult.

            Eventually she found an empty compartment and sat down with a sigh.  It felt good to sit down.  Not realizing that she had closed her eyes, they flew open in surprise as her compartment door opened loudly.  She was glad to see that Malfoy and Snape had not intruded into her solitude but was slightly apprehensive to see a laughing group of 4 unknown boys enter her compartment.  She tried to make out their conversation but she could only understand a few words between laughs…….Malfoy…….on floor!………clutching………crying!………red……girl… Blushing Lily realized that the boys were talking about her kneeing Malfoy; she quickly cleared her throat making them jump.  Through their mirth they had not yet realized she was there.  She looked at the boys one by one.  They were pretty cute, she thought, though now wasn't the time to be thinking of boys, she needed to worry about her classes first. 

The first boy had sandy blond hair, blue eyes with a slight twinkle despite their tired appearance.  The second boy was taller than the first at about 5'5 with dark brown, almost black hair and a very mischievous look in his eyes and a sideways grin on his face which she assumed hardly ever left.  Next was a smaller boy, shorter than she, only about 5' but she assumed he would grow eventually with dirty blond, almost a light brown hair and pale hazel eyes, he was slightly plump but it was mostly just left over baby fat.  He stared at her quizzically as if wondering what _she _was doing in _their_ compartment.   Finally her gaze fell upon the last boy, he was about the same height as the sandy blond haired boy, but not quite as scrawny; he had messy black hair that seemed to go in every direction and fell into his eyes in a cute kind of way.  He wore thin rimmed glasses and had chocolate brown eyes with a grin matching the other dark haired boy. 

            She felt her anxiousness towards the boys disappear with their openly friendly smiles, so unlike the two she had met in the corridor.  Smiling at the boys she said "Hi!  My name is Lily Evans, care to join me?"  Just then the train lurched into movement making the boys knock into each other and land in a dog pile on the floor making Lily laugh.

            "OOOOF, get off me Peter!"

            "I can't!"

            "Why not?"

            "Because both Sirius and Remus are on top of me!"

            "REMUS!  SIRIUS!  GET OFF!"  The boy with messy hair yelled, making Lily giggle even more.

            Finally the pile of eleven-year-old boys was sorted out and they all got up and brushed themselves off and began to introduce themselves.

            "I'm Remus Lupin" The boy with tired eyes said holding out his hand with a friendly smile.  "Please to meet you!" 

            Lily shook his hand and smiled back at him, "I'm Peter Pettigrew" the other blond haired boy said simply and Lily nodded to him. 

Next the boy with the messy black hair grinned taking Lily's hand, "I am James Potter, it's just smashing to meet you Lily!" 

            Lily rolled her eyes at him and looked up at the last boy as he pushed James out of the way, "I am Sirius Black my fair lady, please to be at your service" he took Lily's hand and kissed it, she blushed furiously and gave him a look that clearly said 'you're nutters!'

            Lily took her hand away sharply and smiled at them all "It's nice to meet you guys too!  Like I said before, I'm Lily Evans at _your_ service" she said with a wink, "what were you guys talking about when you came in here?"

            "Oh that!"  James said excitedly "We were coming to find a compartment when we saw that stupid git Malfoy on the floor of his compartment clutching his um….." Lily smiled as she saw James blush, "his um, well you know!  And mumbling about some getting some red haired girl back".  James finished with a grin as he looked at Lily's red hair; "You wouldn't know what he was talking about now would you?" a mischievous glint appeared in his warm eyes as he spoke.

            Lily blushed a shade dark enough to match her slowly drying hair, "well he wouldn't leave me alone!  Said I was pretty and that I had to sit with him and glared at me like I was a piece of meat all the while calling me a 'stupid mudblood' whatever the heck that is.  So I just did what any girl would have done in my position."  Lily had to smile at the faces of the boys, Peter was staring at her in awe and Remus looked like he just met a new best friend while Sirius looked as if Christmas had come early.  Lily looked over to James with a grin, her smile faltered as she noticed his frown and anger-clouded eyes.

            "He shouldn't have called you a mudblood" James said quietly "It's a dirty, vile name that stupid blokes like him call witches or wizards who come from non-magical families.  It's a dirty, foul name that should be banned."  As James finished a strong strain of anger had entered his voice.  "Don't worry Lily, we're your friends now and we won't let anything bad happen to you, he won't hurt you." 

            Lily just stared at him, she hadn't been worried about Malfoy or anyone else, looking at the others she saw them all nod in agreement, and she smiled warmly and simply said "Thank you" glad that she had already made a group of such wonderful friends.  For the rest of the train ride they talked all about the Wizarding World, including an extensive explanation about Quidditch.  Lily was amazed at this new world she had entered into and was looking forward to every part of it, completely forgetting about the start of her day and how horrible it had been as she slowly dried and listened to the boys, her new friends speak.

            Lily couldn't keep her mouth from speaking of the glorious boat ride and her first view of Hogwarts.  The boys were content to let her prattle on, amazed at the passion and fire she showed.  As they were waiting in the entry hall of the school grinning and giggling, though the boys were loath to admit to giggling, two unwanted visitors paid them homage.

            "I would have expected better from you two" snarled a Malfoy, "associating with a mudblood, honestly Potter and you call yourself a wizard.  You too Black, I would have thought a pureblood like yourself would never dirty your hands with this riffraff" 

            "I suggest you take those words back unless you want your nose hexed off" James and Sirius moved closer to Lily, standing protectively on either side of her.  Anger burned deep within their faces, "You are unwanted here, so go back to the rock you crawled out of"  Malfoy opened his mouth quickly in anger but no words came out as a tall witch with her hair pulled back in a tight bun stepped in front of them. 

            "There will be no hexing today" she said, her mouth in a tight line, "Get read for the sorting ladies and gentlemen."  She then opened the doors to the Grand Hall and with it came the deafening noises the other students at Hogwarts made. 

            "That was close" Remus whispered to James

            "Yeah, close for that git, a few more seconds and I would have turned him into a ferret" replied Sirius.

            Lily, who had stayed quite throughout the entire ordeal, suddenly and surprisingly threw her arms around both James and Sirius in an awkward hug.  "Thank you guys so much!  I…I've never had friends who would stand up for me before.  I was always teased in school because I could do things the others couldn't."  She smiled broadly at the boys, "I'm forever in your debt kind sirs!" 

"No problem Lily!  That's why we're here!"  Sirius grinned cheekily.

"Yeah Lil, we'll protect you" James turned Lily so that he could look into her eyes.  "We're you're friends".  He smiled and pulled her into a hug.  Lily had never felt so safe with a person outside of her family before.  She vowed to always keep these friends close in her heart because she knew that they were precious. 

**A/N:  Well?  I know!!  It's been ages and ages!  But hopefully you'll like the changes I've made.  Honestly I meant to restart this story a long time ago, but I got so swamped with courses that I nearly lost my mind.  But I'm back and I PROMISE to keep updating!  In FACT I'll probably have the second chapter up tomorrow!!  I want to thank my loyal fans, wherever you may be and any new and future reviewers upfront.  I really hope that you'll find all this worth it.  I didn't have too much to change in this first chapter, but I know I'm going to add a ton in the next couple because they were well really short.  ****J******

**Disclaimers:  All characters and whatnot belong to JK Rowling and anything else you recognize.**

**The song is called "Got to get you into my life" by the Beatles**

**Before every chapter I'm going to put up song lyrics from the Beatles that I feel capture the overall mood of the chapter.  I especially think this one is good for a beginning.  Hehehe.  I really hoped you enjoyed this, I'll update tomorrow or the next day I promise!!  **


	2. A little help from my friends

**There and Back again **

****

****

**Chapter 2: With a Little Help From my Friends**

_**What would you do if I sang out of tune,   
Would you stand up and walk out on me.  
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,  
And I'll try not to sing out of key.  
I get by with a little help from my friends,  
I get high with a little help from my friends,  
I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends.  
What do I do when my love is away.  
(Does it worry you to be alone)  
How do I feel by the end of the day  
(Are you sad because you're on your own)  
No I get by with a little help from my friends,  
I get high with a little help from my friends,  
Oh, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends.  
Do you need anybody,  
I need somebody to love.  
Could it be anybody  
I want somebody to love.  
Would you believe in love at first sight,  
Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time.  
What do you see hen you turn out the light,  
I can't tell you, but I know it's mine.  
Oh I get by with alittle help from my friends.  
I get high with a little help from my friends,  
Oh I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends.  
Do you need anybody,  
I just need somebody to love,  
Could it be anybody,  
I want somebody to love.  
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,  
Mm I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends,  
Oh I get high with a little help from my friends,  
Yes I get by with a little help from my friends.**_

Lily sat with her head propped up on her hand trying not to fall asleep again in class. She was sitting in her History of Magic class and professor Binns had to be the most boring person ever! Feeling her eyes start to droop she jumped and made a quiet yelp as she was prodded in the back by James. She and James had become the best of friends. They were even closer than he was with the boys; with the exception of Sirius. They talked about everything and shared all their secrets. They had this special bond with each other and could sometimes be seen walking hand in hand, although everyone knew they were not a couple. They had no feelings for each other aside from a deep and profound friendship that most never experience without years of hard work. Rubbing her hand on her cheek she turned around and tried to look irritated at James

"What is it?" she whispered "I was about to catch up on my sleep!"

James snickered, "I was just telling you to look over at Snape and Malfoy during potions next period"

"Why on earth would I look at them?" Lily looked appalled at the suggestion

"Oh, just because" James said with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes", don't worry Lily, it'll be great!"

Lily couldn't help but giggle and grin at James, she knew they had something evil planned for those stupid Slytherins and for the first time since the first day of class when the professor took 10 points from Gryffindor from her for not sitting down quickly enough she couldn't wait to get to potions! The two Slytherins in question had continually been picking on Lily whenever she was alone, so she mostly stayed around the Marauders, as they had taken to calling themselves. Apparently, Malfoy and James had some sort of history, both being from prestigious pureblood families and had an intense dislike for each other. Lily was thankful that she was in the same house as the boys; however because of the large amount of time spent with them she had little interaction with the girls in her dorm. She even forgot their names half the time! Jolted out of her thoughts, class was over and she hurriedly made her way with the boys down to potions, all with matching grins on their faces.

She hated potions the most of all her classes, first of all it was held with the Slytherins which just made it unbearable to begin with. Second of all, it was in the dungeons! It was always cold, dark and dank down there and smelled of mold and old socks. Then last, their professor was the head of Slytherin and would take points from Gryffindor on a regular basis for any small thing that a normal professor wouldn't even notice or care about. Lily slid into her seat and was surprised when a girl she recognized from her dorm asked to sit by her. Lily smiled up at the pretty girl and said sure, knowing that the boys needed to sit together for whatever prank they were pulling. The girl smiled gratefully and sat down.

"You're Lily Evans right?" The girl said, she had shoulder length golden brown hair that flowed in soft waves, big brown eyes that gave her a perpetual look of innocence and a perfect set of teeth. "I'm Arabella Figg" she said with a friendly smile, "Please to meet you!"

"Yep that's me! It's good to meet you too! You're in my dorm right? I'm sorry I haven't spent much time in there, I'm usually over hanging out with the boys." Lily gestured at the four boys who had their heads together and were speaking quietly; every so often one would look over towards the Slytherins.

Smiling, Arabella simply said "I know" noticing that James looked over to Lily and winked at her she sighed, "it must be nice to have such good friends, and so quickly too!" She looked longingly from Lily to the boys.

"Well…." Lily started then changed what she was going to say as she saw the look on Arabella's face. "Why don't you hang out with us all the time then and find out for yourself? Don't worry, they're just boys, although they do smell worse than girls, they are much more entertaining sometimes. They'll accept you without question! It'll be great! I could use a girl friend anyway, some things you just can't tell boys," Lily said with a shake of her head

Arabella looked shocked "Me? Friends with them? But all four of them are purebloods! How am I supposed to be friends with them! I'm only half and half!"

Lily laughed, "That's silly Belle! You don't mind if I call you Belle right? I'm a full muggle born witch! I didn't even know witches were real until a few months ago! They don't care at all! Anyway, you're my friend now and I'm their friend so you are their friend by default!" Lily grinned at her new friend and was glad to see that she grinned back.

"Thanks Lily" Arabella smiled softly to herself, it would be a good year.

Later in potions, Lily and Belle, (Arabella had taken a fondness to her new nickname and said that it would be her new name) were working hard on their potion. They were supposed to be making a potion of light that when thrown against something in the dark illuminated it for twenty minutes to 20 hours depending on the strength of the potion. The girls were having trouble getting the potion to look right, it was supposed to be a gold color but instead it was a murky bronze. Lily sighed bringing the attention of Professor Lannister to their cauldron. He loomed over them menacingly and spoke in a harsh tone "You didn't put enough milkweed in and you did not chop the chokeweed properly! 10 points from Gryffindor for your carelessness"

Lily's mouth dropped open and she felt her anger rising "But that's not fair professor! This is our first potion and we have been working as hard as anyone! Besides! Look at their potion" She said pointing to a group of Slytherin girls "their potion is all gray and watery looking and you didn't take any points off of them and we are way closer than they are to what it's supposed to be!" Lily was out of breath after her speech and noticed that Professor Lannister bristled with anger

"That is enough Evans! 30 points from Gryffindor for your insolence! I will not tolerate such nonsense in my classroom!" As he was lecturing Lily and Belle, no one noticed as Peter crept towards Snape and Malfoy's cauldron and added some mysterious ingredient to it. No one else noticed because all eyes were on the professor and Lily. The Professor abruptly turned from Lily to face the class. "Now is the time to test your potions, except for those of you I've already spoken with" he said with a glare at Lily and Belle. "Don't worry, the potion is safe to drink, you'll just glow slightly for about 5 minutes, it's not as strong when ingested."

Lily looked quizzically at the boys and saw wide grins spread across their faces. She watched as everyone drank their potion and her eyes fell on Snape and Malfoy. Slowly everyone else seemed to glow, kind of shimmered as if light were coming from within them. Looking at Snape and Malfoy she noticed they started to glow as well, but bright gold! She noticed Sirius mutter something with is wand pointed at the two boys and their hair, nails and eyes suddenly turned deep scarlet. All they Gryffindors started laughing wildly at the two Slytherins decked out in Gryffindor colors while the Slytherins just looked on mortified. Before the Professor was able was able to yell at the Gryffindors, class ended and everyone bolted for the door leaving a mystified Snape and Malfoy behind. Pulling a hysterical Belle behind her, Lily grinned widely and said "Come on! It's time for lunch!" And they both ran towards the Great Hall.

Plopping down at the Gryffindor table, the boys were still laughing at their prank on the Slytherins, Lily and Arabella sat down next to them smiling. Once the boys calmed down Lily proceeded to introduce Arabella. "Hey guys! This is Arabella Figg, she's great and in my dorm. She'll be hanging out with us from now on so play nice!" Lily smiled at her friend and she smiled back

"Hi! Good to meet you! And call me Belle" Arabella said with a wink at Lily. The boys all made their introductions, Sirius being as corny as ever making Belle roll her eyes. As lunch began, everyone took note of their seating; Remus was next to James who was next to Lily. Across from Remus was Peter, Across from James was Sirius and Across from Lily was Arabella; from that day forward they sat in the exact same places, in the exact same order for every meal everyday.

**A/N—I'm sad, very very sad that no one has reviewed ****L**** I thought you all like this story. I didn't edit a whole lot in this chapter, actually most of my editing will be done when Lily is older, I want to move past this part. Ummmm I like reviews!!**

**Disclaimers: Jk owns all you know that**

**The song is called "A Little Help From My Friends" by again the Beatles ****J******


	3. All Things Must Pass

**There and Back Again **

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****

**Chapter 3: All Things Must Pass**

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**_Sunrise doesn't last all morning,   
a cloudburst doesn't last all day.   
Seems my love is up   
and has left you with no warning.  
But it's not always going   
to be this grey.  
  
All things must pass,   
all things must pass away.  
  
Sunset doesn't last all evening;   
a mind can blow those clouds away.   
After all this my love is up   
and must be leaving.   
It has not always   
been this grey.  
  
All things must pass,   
all things must pass away.  
  
All things must pass   
none of life's strings can last.   
So I must be on my way   
and face another day.  
  
Now the darkness only stays at nighttime,   
in the morning it will fade away.   
Daylight is good   
at arriving at the right time.  
It's not always   
going to be this grey.  
  
All things must pass,   
all things must pass away.  
All things must pass,   
all things must pass away._****__**

Lily sighed putting down her DADA essay. It wasn't that she wasn't good at or didn't like that subject, she just hated writing essays. She figured it was mostly because of that stupid quill/ink thing. Why couldn't she just use a normal ballpoint pen? She looked at her parchment, that was another thing, why parchment and not simple paper? 'Oh well' she thought, 'that'll just have to do, ink smudges and all, stupid quills'. Glad to be finished she looked around the common room to see how her friends were fairing. She smiled as she saw Peter asleep in front of the fire with a smudge of ink on his forehead. She looked towards Sirius and Remus; apparently they had finished as well because they were playing a game of exploding snap with their essays forgotten by their sides. She noticed James was still working on his and Belle was giving hers a last glance checking for mistakes with a smug smile on her face.

"Finished!" Arabella announced with a grin, expecting to be the first one done. Her smile faded as she saw Lily, Sirius and Remus smiling back at her all too innocently. "Awwwww!" she said with a pout, "I wanted to be done first!"

"Sorry old chum, but Remmi here beat you to it with wonderful me in second." Sirius said proudly

"Old chum? Since when do you call Belle 'old chum'? And don't call me Remmi, only girls can call me Remmi" Remus said with a cocky grin

Lily rolled her eyes and ignored their conversation about who was better at DADA than the other person and moved to sit next to James on the couch.

"Need help?" she asked quietly?

"No, but thanks, I'm almost finished. I'm so glad it'sChristmas Break. And look, we have all of our homework finished on only the second day!" James smiled at Lily, he wondered why she didn't go home over the Hols but he figured she would tell him when she was ready. "You all done Lil?"

"Yeah" she said stifling a yawn "Man am I beat, I think I'll head to bed" turning to Arabella she said "You coming Belle?" A smile quirked at Lily's lips as she watched Belle and Sirius who were sitting close to one another having a 'heated argument' about their essay. 'They are so flirting' she thought to herself.

"What? Yeah I'll be up in a couple mins," Said a distracted Belle as she turned back to her conversation with Sirius

Lily shrugged and walked over to Peter and gently shook him awake. "Peter" she whispered "you fell asleep why don't you go to bed, I'll walk up with you"

Peter groggily opened his yes "whhaaa? Where am I? Why am I so hot" This of course sent Sirius into fits of giggles

"Oh yeah!" Sirius said grinning "You are just soooooo hot! You hottie you! If I were a girl I'd want your body!"

"Knock it off Siri!" Lily said giggling. Turning back to Peter, "Come on, it's time for bed sleepy head" And with that Peter and Lily walked up to their respective dorms to sleep.

A few days later, it was Christmas Eve and Lily couldn't be more excited. She woke up at the crack of dawn when sunlight was just beginning to stream through the windows. She smiled to herself happily jumped out of bed and ran to Belle's bed and threw open her bed hangings, glad they were the only first years staying for the hols. "WAKE UP SUNSHINE!!!!! IT"S MORNING! HERE COMES THE SUN!" she practically screamed in Belle's ear.

Arabella woke up with a scream "What the bloody hell are you doing! It's" she looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand "only 6 bloody 30 in the bloody morning! You great prat! Go away and let me sleep you dirty git!"

"Wow Belle, you sure can swear in the mornings! Never knew you had it in you! Now get up! It's Christmas Eve Day and I wanna make the most of it no up!" With that, Lily yanked the blankets off of Arabella with a grin

"Fine fine" Arabella mumbled "I'm up you wicked girl, I'm up"

"Great! I'm off to wake up the boys!" Lily said all too cheerily. She crept into the boy's dorm as quietly as possible and silently climbed upon one of the empty beds. Taking out her wand she muttered "sonorous", opened her mouth and started singing as loud as she could "DECK THE HALLS WITH BOUGHS OF HOLLY FA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA! TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY FA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!" She laughed with glee as James fell out of his bed and Remus sat straight up while Sirius jumped out of bed shouting "Where's the fire mama! I'm comin!" And Peter screamed bloody murder. The boys noticed a hysterically laughing Lily on Frank Longbottom's bed and glared daggers at her.

"Lily!" They all shouted at once

"Sorry guys, well not really, now get up hurry! It's Christmas Eve!" She jumped off the bed and skipped back to her dorm to find a sleepy Belle, fully clothed sitting dazed on the floor. "Come on Belle! Let's wrap our Christmas presents!" The rest of the afternoon was spent wrapping gifts and just lazing around. There was a Yule Ball that night but only 4th years and up could attend so they group of first years just sat around the fire in the common room playing chess or exploding snap and telling stories of their childhood becoming even closer than before. Eventually the group reluctantly got up and went to sleep murmuring lots of "Happy Christmas" to each other and "sleep well".

Far away from the safety of Hogwarts and the sleeping children, a large house sat on a hill with a massive orchard behind it. Because it was winter, what fruit the trees in the orchard produced was unrecognizable. Inside the house was the perfect picture of a family. A tall man with unruly black hair and round-rimmed glasses with blue eyes sat in an over sized green armchair. He looked up from the book he was reading and smiled at his wife sitting in the chair across from his. She looked so beautiful to him, with sparkling, deep brown eyes and chestnut colored hair. She had a dimple in her right cheek when she smiled. She noticed him looking at her and she smiled back, but her gaze roved to a picture of their eleven-year-old son on the mantle above the fireplace by which they were sitting. She smiled fondly at the picture and the picture waved and smiled back. The woman looked over to the man and saw him looking at the picture with pride. He was their son, their only son. They had a daughter once, but lost her before she turned two to an illness not even the best magical or muggle doctors could cure. She would have been eight by now. Their son wrote home often, telling of his many escapades he and his friends went on. He mostly wrote about a girl he called his best friend and how they shared everything and did everything together. The parents were filled with joy and pride for their son and were thankful he had made such wonderful friends.

Looking at the clock, the couple smiled at each other and decided it was time to sleep; they were planning on visiting their son the next morning as a surprise for Christmas and had to be up early. The woman began her ascent to their bedroom when a heavy knock was heard on the sturdy oak door. She looked questioningly at her loving husband who stood up to open the door. 'Who would be calling at this hour on Christmas Eve no doubt' he wondered. As he walked towards the door, not in any rush to open it, the door burst open and splintered pieces of broken wood were scattered among the house. The man heard his wife scream as three black cloaked figures stepped into their warm home. He looked past the men and saw what appeared to be a Skull with a snake protruding from its mouth in green smoke floating far above their well-manicured lawn. He looked at his wife as the three men raised their wands at the same time, with exact precision. He looked at her sadly and she looked back in fear and he simply said "I love you" as all three figures spoke the most deadly words that could be spoken "Avada Kevdara" and he fell to the floor in a heap with a peaceful look on his face. The wife looked on in horror as her beloved husband dropped from life and without thinking she lunged at the closest cloaked man, but never reached him. She too fell with a loud thud as the same evil words were spoken with even more malice than before. Silently the men turned to go. But one man, turned around right before he exited through the shattered door frame, he looked directly at the picture of the dead couples son, the smile gone from his terror stricken face, and the cloaked man smiled and said to the picture "you're next boy" and left.

Lily awoke with a start drenched in cold sweat. She had the most horrible dream. That man looked just like James, and that woman had his eyes. With a sinking feeling in her stomach she jumped out of bed and ran barefoot to the boy's dorm. She silently looked at James's bed and saw it was empty with a blanket carelessly thrown on the floor as if in haste. Lily knew, somehow she knew her dream had been real. She turned and ran to the common room and found a sobbing James crouched in front of the fire clutching a tear-stained note in his left hand. Without words Lily went up to him, took his right hand and led him from the common room to a secret place she had found a few weeks before hand. It was a little courtyard, although she didn't really think it was outside because it was always green and warm flowers constantly growing. She led James down the corridors to her secret place, it was just a portrait of a beautiful garden, and all she had to do was say "Eden" and the picture opened for them. The far end of the room was nothing but a glass wall facing east, the direction of the sunrise.

Still holding his hand, Lily sat James down underneath a weeping willow tree to be sheltered, sat down beside him and drew him up into her arms where he could weep for his parents undisturbed. After what seemed like hours, when in fact it probably was, Lily noticed James wasn't crying anymore, or at least not as much and the sun was slowly beginning to rise. Despite their situation, she couldn't help but marvel at its beauty. Softly she began to sing a verse from her favorite song to James hoping it would make him feel better.

Little darling I feel the ice is slowly melting

Little darling it seems like years since it's been clear

Here comes the sun do do do do

Here comes the sun and I say

It's all right

Here comes the sun do do do do

Here comes the sun

It's all right

It's all right

She ended in a whisper and realized that James was clinging to her like he'd fall and die if he let go and was sobbing again. She smiled sadly and held him closer, vowing to herself that she would make it better someday, that she would help him though this tough time in her life and that she would always no matter what be there for him.

**A/N: Well another fixed chapter :) Though like I said before most of the big changes don't happen until Lily's back at Hogwarts. Ummmm I must say I had hoped for more people to read this…I mean I DID have well over 300 reviews on the original :-P But it's fine lets me be more able to reply to my reviewer anyway :-D**

**Shelly-** thanks for reviewing! I'm really glad that I managed to keep the interest of at least one person who has read the original. I decided to rewrite it because there are a lot of things that I am not happy with at all later. I don't feel that I developed the characters well enough at all. I want to spend more time delving into the emotions of my characters and not just have action scenes. But most of that comes later. Does that help? Thanks bunches again!

**Disclaimers: JK Rowling owns all things Harry Potter…**

**The song "All Things Must Pass" is by the Beatles…anyone noticing a trend. As well as the snippet of "Here Comes the Sun" both, coincidentally written by George Harrison :) my personal favorite Beatle **

**Please review!! I'll update sooner!!**


	4. While My Guitar Gently Weeps

**There and Back Again **

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**Chapter 4: While My Guitar Gently Weeps**

**_I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping  
While my guitar gently weeps.  
I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping  
Still my guitar gently weeps.  
I don't know why nobody told you  
How to unfold your love,   
I don't know how someone controlled you  
They bought and sold you.  
I look at the world and I notice it's turning  
While my guitar gently weeps.  
With every mistake we must surely be learning,   
Still my guitar gently weeps.  
I don't know how you were diverted  
You were perverted too.  
I don't know how you were inverted  
No-one altered you.  
I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping,   
While my guitar gently weeps.  
I then look at you all,   
Still my guitar gently weeps._****__**

Somehow, Lily and James found their way back to the common room though a blur of tears. They now found themselves surrounded by their friends' somber faces with unopened presents strewn around the common room floor forgotten. Lily was holding James's hand with no intention of letting go until he pulled away. She looked at him just staring at his pile of presents, particularly those from his parents. She wanted to cry again, to grieve with her best friend; she couldn't imagine the kind of pain he was going though. Her mind kept going back to her dream; did she really see the death of his parents? She needed to talk to Professor Dumbledore about this, but later. Now, James needed her.

Suddenly James smiled, bringing a tiny twinkle into his eyes, not nearly as big a twinkle as before but it was a start. He looked around at his friends, noticing their sad looks. He saw tear trains on the faces of Remus, Peter and Sirius. His parents had been like surrogate parents to them. He smiled sadly at them. Belle was huddled in front of the fire with tears still streaming down her face. She was obviously scared, and for good reason. His gaze turned to Lily, his Lily and he squeezed her hand making her look up at him. Her beautiful green eyes were rimmed in red; she cried almost as much as James had, feeling the pain the felt. He smiled at her and she smiled back, as warmly as she could. Letting his eyes graze over the entire room, he felt strangely at peace. He still grieved, and probably would for many months, if not years. He missed his parents terribly and always would. But he knew he would be okay, he was surrounded by people who cared about him and wouldn't let him go through this alone; he was thankful for that. Smiling wider, he did something that surprised everyone…

"Well? Is it Christmas or not? Look at all these presents! Why are you all staring at me like that? Let's get to opening!" James smiled at the reactions of his friends, at their faces full of shock.

"James, are you sure?" Sirius began, "I mean we can wait until tomorrow or whenever you feel up to it" Sirius frowned, wondering if his friend was feeling ill.

"But tomorrow it won't be Christmas!" His smile softened "Besides, I'm okay, or at least I will be, I have you guys". He squeezed Lily's hand again "And I don't think my parents would want me to mope about, especially on a Holiday they treasured". He paused seeing his friend's faces light up, even Belle's; she turned from the fire and smiled, "So what do you say? Lets get these presents opened!" With those words the group practically dived into the pile of presents and hastily opened with words of exclamation and praise when they got something they liked and comments like "well this is….interesting" when it was something they didn't like. Eventually they were finished opening presents and all smiling at each other despite the hovering sadness that still lingered in the room, and were happy.

Later that evening they were sitting in the Great Hall enjoying the Christmas Feast with those who did not go home for Christmas. James still looked sad, but he tried his best to keep a positive face. After the feast, they got up to go to the common room but were stopped by Professor McGonagall.

"Miss Evans" she said, not as sharply as usual "Professor Dumbledore would like a word with you, if you would be so kind as to come with me to his office." She said with a hand gesture

"Of course professor" Lily said timidly "what's this about?"

"That is between you and Professor Dumbledore I'm afraid." Turning to James, a sad expression came over her face "I'm terribly sorry for you loss Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore wished to convey his deepest condolences and wishes that you visit him sometime soon to have a chat."

"Thank you professor" James said solemnly "I will do that"

"Very well, Come along Lily" Professor McGonagall gave one last smile to James and walked towards Dumbledore's office fully expecting Lily to follow. Eventually they stopped in front of a stone gargoyle. McGonagall said "chocolate frogs" and the gargoyle moved aside allowing access into the office. "Up you go Miss Evans, Professor Dumbledore awaits you." She said and briskly walked away.

Lily cautiously walked up the stairs leading to the office, not really knowing what to expect. When she entered it, her mind flew from thoughts of what fun and interesting things she would find in the office to the man sitting in a chair in front of the desk. Her mouth dropped open as she laid eyes on her father. He had a long cut trailing from his forehead to the middle of his cheek. She looked to Dumbledore who had a grave expression on his face; his eyes were anything but twinkling. She didn't know what to think or what to say so she just stood there.

"Ahh, Miss Evans, how kind of you to join us" Professor Dumbledore graciously said.

This broke Lily out of her stupor, "D...Daddy?" she stammered "What happened? Are you okay? Mom? Petunia? Why are you here?" Words gushed uncontrollably out of her mouth

"Oh princess" he said with tears in his eyes, "Maybe Dumbledore should explain, I don't have the heart." He patted the seat next to him and she sat down beside him, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Yes, that may be for the best" Professor Dumbledore smiled slightly at Lily, "I understand you've been helping young James Potter cope with his family's death?" When she nodded his smile widened slightly, but yet his eyes grew sadder. "It's good that he has a friend such as you."

"I'm sorry professor" Lily interrupted, "But is this about James? And why does Daddy have that horrid gash on his face! What is going on?" Lily was starting to get hysterical; she bit her lip to keep from bursting out into tears.

The professor's face grew grave again. "Miss Evans, Lily, along with the attack on the Potter family, several other families were attacked as well. I suppose they thought attacking on Christmas Eve would hurt the most."

"They? They who?" Lily cried out. She looked at her father and noticed a single tear escaping his bright green eyes; he laid a comforting hand on his daughters shoulder

"It's alright Lily, just listen to the professor" Lily looked at her father with unshed tears in her eyes and nodded simply.

"As I was saying, the man who did this is known as Lord Voldemort, we don't really know the reason why he attacked most of the families. His intentions are unclear as of yet." He paused watching the blood drain out of Lily's face, "Lily, your family was one of those attacked last night, but somehow they were lucky and escaped with only a few minor cuts and bruises along with large emotional scars." He paused again to the now forming tears in Lily's eyes as she clutched her father's hand for support. "One thing that is clear is that you and Mr. Potter must be protected."

Lily gave him a confused look "I don't understand professor"

Professor Dumbledore gave her an understanding look. This was going to be hard to say, he knew how much Lily and James cared for each other. He sighed and continued "Lily, for some unknown reason you and Mr. Potter are targets of Lord Voldemort. To keep James safe he will stay in the protection of witches or wizards at all times. Over breaks and holiday's he will stay with the Black family, Mr. and Mrs. Black are both Aurors and are fully capable of protecting him." He paused and swallowed hard. Lily's father squeezed her shoulder and she knew something bad was coming, "In order to protect you, you are being transferred to Salem School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You will adopt an entirely new identity, and change your appearance. You will even have a new name. Although Salem is located in Massachusetts, your house will be in Missouri and you will floo to and from school."

At this point Lily did burst into tears "Why! I don't understand! Why can't I stay here?" Lily said though sobs "I don't want to leave!" She looked at her father surprised to see tears on his cheeks and she cried out to him "Please Daddy, don't make me leave! I don't' want to leave!"

"I'm so sorry sweetie, but it's for the best, besides we won't be moving until the end of your school year so you'll have plenty of time to say goodbye to your friends." This just made Lily cry harder, say goodbye to her friends? She could never in a million years say goodbye to her friends.

She looked up through her tears at Professor Dumbledore's sympathetic face. "Is that all professor" she said quietly

"Yes Miss Evans, you may go."

Lily got up, gave one last look to her father and slowly made her way to the Gryffindor common room trying to dry her tears. She knew she couldn't tell them just yet, James didn't need that kind of pain right now. She kept her eyes on the floor, her friends; she'd never see them again! This was her home, her heritage. Go to America? What were they thinking? France would have been better or even Russia, she could at least see her friends occasionally then. As she got to the common room, she realized she was humming to herself "Here Comes the Sun" like she sang to James. How would she cope without him? She was scared.

Soon it was May and school would be ending soon. Lily still hadn't told her friends she was leaving. She sat on the windowsill in the common room gazing at the spring flowers and the leafy trees. James was much better than he had been. He accepted his parent's death and was able to move on somewhat with the help of her friends. Lily knew she had to tell them she was going soon. They only had a few more weeks of school left. She decided that today was the day she would tell them.

She looked at her friends; Peter and Belle were working on a potions assignment while James, Remus and Sirius were working on their transfiguration essay, Lily's own essay lay forgotten on her lap. She sighed, now was the time. "Guys" she said softly, but still everyone heard her and looked at her expectantly. "I have something important to tell you" Pain flashed across her face and her eyes welled with tears. She loved her friends so much!

"What is it Lily? It's okay you can tell us anything" Remus said reassuringly.

Gathering what courage she had, she choked down her tears "I'm leaving guys; once school is over I'm leaving"

"Of course you are Lily! We all are! But we'll see each other next term, or maybe of the summer! What's the big deal?" Sirius said with a wide grin. James stayed silent, he knew there was more.

Lily couldn't hold it in anymore, tears slipped down her face to the surprise to all of her friends. "That's just it Sirius, I won't be coming back in the fall. My…my family is moving to America and I have to transfer to a school there" She managed to get it all and broke down into large sobs.

"What? Lily leave? She can't! We need her!" Peter exclaimed

"This is a joke, right lily? Please?" Sirius said biting his lip

"Lily" was all Belle said before she broke down into tears of her own

"We'll see you again Lily, don't worry" Remus said positively, but with worry in his eyes. Lily looked toward James; he just stared at her with a blank expression on his face then got up and walked out of the common room making Lily cry even harder.

The weeks passed far to fast for anyone's taste and soon exams were over and everyone was getting ready to leave for home. James had been strangely distant; he hardly spoke to Lily. It was only a few hours before they were to board the Hogwarts express, Lily for the last time. She and Belle cried as they packed and randomly stopped to hug one another.

"We'll keep in touch right Lily?" Belle asked with a hopeful look

"Of course we will Belle! I'll write you all the time and you better write and tell me about how the boys are doing" She choked down another sob, and turned as she heard a knock at her door. "Come in" she said as she wiped away more tears. To her surprise James stood in the doorway with a pained look on his face. Belle smiled at Lily and walked out of the room shutting the door behind her.

"I'm so sorry Lily" James said suddenly "I though, I thought that if I distanced myself from you it would make it easier but it isn't. I'm so scared Lily that I'll never see you again. But, but I think I will, I think you'll come back here and and I'll be waiting. You know how at lunch we always sit in the same places? Well I won't let anyone sit in your place except you. That way even if you don't come back, no one will ever be able to replace you." James gushed with his eyes downcast.

Lily couldn't help it; she crossed the room to where he was standing and have him the hug of a lifetime "Oh James! I'm going to miss you so much! I don't know what I'm going to do!" She began to cry into his shirt as he awkwardly patted her back.

"I have something for you Lily; he broke apart from her and pulled a box out of his pocket "I wanted you to have something to remember us by". He smiled sadly and handed the small box to Lily

Lily opened it and gasped in surprise "James! It's beautiful" Inside was a beautiful heart-shaped locket about the size of an American silver dollar.

"Open it" James whispered. Lily did, and a smile crossed her lips through her tears. Inside were two small pictures. On one side was a picture of Lily and James and on the other side were the rest of the gang. They were all moving around, like they had been playing. Sometimes the girls were tickled and then the boys were kicked in return. James smiled "Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it! It's the most thoughtful, beautiful, wonderful gift I've ever gotten, I'll never take it off, I promise." She smiled at James though her tears and hugged him one last time. She would never forget this moment for the rest of her life.

Eventually it was time to go, everyone said their good-byes to Lily, and even Sirius was slightly tearful. But it was time and she left. On the plane ride over to America she fingered the perfect gold locket and looked towards the sunrise softly humming to herself "Here Comes the Sun". She made a vow to herself to somehow, sometime come back to England despite whatever danger she might be in. England was her home, she would return someday.

**A/N Well I'm totally stupid and realized the reason why I wasn't getting reviews before last update was because I forgot to put that it was a L/J fic and just had it under general. I'm such a blond sometimes hehe. This has been the longest chapter so far, and now the major changes start to happen…after this one anyway. Lily will no longer be a child after this and the rest of the story can go on. So look forward to the next installment. :)**

**Thanks to all my reviewers!! It really made me happy! I'd list you all out, but I honestly don't have time. I'm supposed to be leaving soon to go home for the weekend. So I'll do it next time. Have a good weekend everyone!**

**Disclaimers: JK owns all Harry Potter stuff that you recognize**

**The song at the beginning "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is as usual written by the Beatles (by John I believe) anyone noticing a pattern here :) **


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